§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Attorney-General what advice has been given by the Lord Chancellor to judges about criticising solicitors from the bench without giving the solicitor an opportunity to be heard.
§ The Attorney-GeneralIt would not be appropriate for the Lord Chancellor to issue advice to judges on a matter of this kind. However, in May 1989, the presiding judges of England and Wales issued a notice to all judges emphasising that, while the decision as to whether or not to criticise a solicitor in open court must be one for the discretion of the individual judge, there is and always has been an obligation on the judge both to give the solicitor an opportunity to be heard and to refrain from making criticism in open court until after the facts have been established.